There will be "significant bill increases" for Welsh Water customers in order to tackle pollution in rivers, bosses have warned. The price increase is needed to address pollution in rivers which is "not meeting the right standards".
The not-for-profit water company told the Welsh Affairs Committee that there needed to be a "phase of significant bill increases to try and tackle" the quality of rivers in Wales. Steve Wilson, managing director of wastewater services, described how five of the "most iconic rivers in Wales, if not the UK" are not meeting the right standards.
Six of the worst polluted rivers in the UK are in Wales. In just one year England and Wales’ waterways had sewage pumped into them for at least 3.4m hours, according to recent figures. Any rise in bills is likely to happen over a number of years as Welsh Water will have to apply to water regulator Ofwat to increase its prices.
